Blower and drier



Sept. 25, 1956 c. B. JORIM'AN ETAL BLOWER AND DRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 27, 1955 INVENTORS CLBc/o rim (2 n [RM We; ZZ i a m 6 ATTORNEYS Sept. 25, 1956 c. B. JORIMAN ET AL 2,764,667

BLOWER AND DRIER Filed Jan. 2'7, 1955 2 Shee sheet 2 I I INVENTORS *4 u nu U n Cjgxforiman m RMWz'lZta/ms BY ATTORNEY5 United States Patent Application January 27, 1955, Serial No. 484,402

1 Claim. Cl. 219-39 This invention'rela'tes to a blower and drier.

An object of this invention relates to a combined blower and drier, designed particularly for use in hospitals or the like for quickly drying casts and at the same time applying a predetermined heat to the cast.

Another object of this invention is to provide a combined blower and drier for use in the drying or application of thermo-controlled heat to the perineum or to the skin or various parts of the body, and particularly for skin grafts.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in combination, a blower, a heating unit and a thermostat for regulating the degree of heat to be applied to the particular part.

A further object of this invention is to provide a combined blower and drier mounted in a housing having a pair of runners extending therefrom with a flexible tubular discharge member which can be applied substantially directly to the affected part.

A further object of this invention is to provide a control switch adapted to be disposed within easy reach of the patient so that the device may be turned on or off by the patient.

With the above and other objects in view, our invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a blower and drier constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the vertical plane of line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the electric circuits embodied in this device.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates generally a housing which is formed of end walls 12 and 13, side walls 14 and 15, and a top wall 16, the walls 12 to 16, inclusive, being spot welded together to form a rigid, sturdy housing.

The housing 10 has mounted interiorly thereof an electric blower 19 having a casing 17 from which projects a lateral flange 18. The blower 19 is formed with a discharge neck 20 which has a portion thereof extending through the end wall 12. The fan or blower 19 is of the centrifugal type having a central suction opening 22 communicating with the interior of the housing 10, and blade unit 23 is secured to the motor shaft 24. The motor 30 is of the squirrel cage type.

2,764,667 Patented Sept: 25,- 1956 The end wall 12 is provided with a plurality of air inlet openings 25 which are defined by means of louvers-26 struck upwardly therefrom.

Thedischarge member or-neck 20 of theblower 19 has mounted therein an electrical heating element 27, and the heating element 27 has one ofits-sid'es connected by means of a conductor 28'-to one lead 29' which is connected to the motor 30. Conductor-2'8 'and lead 29are connected through wire 31 with one side-of a male plug 32. The other side of the male plug 32- is connected by wire- 33'to one sideof a thermostat 3'4 havingitso'ther side connected through conductor -35"withthe other side of the heating element 27; and=the lead36 'connects the other side of the motor 30' with the conductor 33': As seen in Figure 2, the thermostat is mountedon theupper outer side of the discharge neck 20 within the housing 10.

The housing 10 has a conventional double pole electrical receptacle 21 secured to the top wall 16 for receiving the prongs of the plug 32, and the electrical receptacle 21 is connected at one side by conductor 37 to one side of a current source, and the opposite side of the current source 21 is connected by conductor 38 to one side of a remotely disposed switch 39. The opposite side of switch 39 is connected by conductor 40 to the opposite side of the electrical receptacle 21.

The outlet or discharge neck 20 from blower 19 projects through end wall 12 as indicated at 41, and a cap 42 is removably mounted on the nipple 41. Cap 42 has a centrally disposed nipple 0r connector 43 about which one end of a flexible tube 44 telescopes. The tube 44 has the opposite end thereof open, and a band 45 is disposed about the outer free end of tube 44.

The blower structure hereinbefore described is adapted to be placed on a floor or other surface, and is supported in elevated position by a pair of U-shaped runners 46 which are secured to and project downwardly from the end walls 12, 13 of the housing 10.

To support and to facilitate the maintenance of the blower unit, the housing 10 is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed flanges 51 which are welded or otherwise secured to the side walls 14, 15. As is shown in Figure 2, the flange 18 of the blower is connected to the under side of each of the flanges 51 by bolts 49 and wing nuts 50, whereby the blower 19 may be easily dropped out of the housing 10.

The receptacle 21, as shown in Figure 2, is secured to top wall 16, and when the blower structure is to be removed from housing 10, plug 32 is disconnected from receptacle 21 and the blower, including the motor and other parts, may then be lifted out of housing 10.

In the use and operation of this device, the free end of the flexible tube 44 which forms the nozzle is disposed closely adjacent the part which it is desired to dry or heat.

Blower 19 is operated by closing switch 39 which will energize motor 30 and also energize heating element 27. The degree of heat generated by heating element 27 is controlled by means of the thermostat 34.

In practice, if after a period of time the affected part which is receiving the heated draft of air becomes too hot, the patient may cut otf the blower by opening switch 39.

Having described and illustrated one embodiment of this invention, it will be understood that the same is offered merely by way of example, and that the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A combined blower and drier comprising a housing having parallel spaced apart side walls, parallel spaced apart end walls extending between the opposite ends of said side walls, a top wall secured to the upper edges of said side and end walls, one of said end walls having a circular opening therethrough, a pair of flanges secured to the inner faces of the opposite side walls in vertical alignment with said circular opening, an electrical receptacle secured to said top wall, means for detachably connecting said electrical receptacle to a source of electric energy, an electric switch positioned outside said housing, a flexible electrical conduit connecting said switch between said receptacle and the source of electric energy whereby operation of said switch controls the supply of electric energy to said receptacle, a blower housing, a cylindrical discharge neck projecting from said blower housing, an annular flange radially projecting from said neck intermediate its ends, said neck projecting through said circular opening with said flange in engagement with the inner face of said end wall surrounding said circular opening, a flange formed on said blower housing and extending laterally therefrom with its outer side edges detachably secured to said pair of flanges on said side walls, a blower mounted in said blower housing, a motor drive for said motor secured to said blower housing, an electric resistor heater mounted in said neck, means detachably and electrically connecting said blower and said heater to said electrical receptacle, a thermostatic switch mounted on said neck within said first named housing and electrically connected between said heater and said electrical receptacle for controlling said heater, a cap telescopically mounted over the outer end of said neck, and a flexible conduit telescopically mounted on said cap whereby air moved by said blower and heated by said heater may be directed through said conduit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,780,182 Frederics Nov. 4, 1930 2,027,605 McCord et al Jan. 14, 1936 2,259,712 Sweetland Oct. 21, 1941 2,456,881 Leather Dec. 21, 1948 

